


Shut Up And Dance With Me

by KarinaMay



Series: DE Artfest [2]
Category: Detroit Evolution - Fandom, Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Detroit: Evolution
Genre: DE ArtFest, DEArtfest, Dancing, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Smoking, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:27:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25128493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarinaMay/pseuds/KarinaMay
Summary: Gavin hears a song on the radio that reminds him of when he took Tina to junior prom. Nines finds him reminiscing and is curious to find out whether Gavin is actually a good dancer.Written for the #DEArtfest Dancing prompt.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: DE Artfest [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825684
Comments: 3
Kudos: 50





	Shut Up And Dance With Me

**2019**

“I told you this dress was the better option,” Gavin said, looking smugly at his best friend, twirling in front of the mirror. “The navy one was boring. This one actually makes you look like a fun person.”

Tina stopped spinning and faced him, raising an eyebrow. 

“Not that I know anything about fashion,” Gavin added quickly. “Shut up, Teeny.” 

Tina laughed and skipped over to him. She did look gorgeous in the silky, blood red dress. Her hair, usually up in a high ponytail, was down today, and had been curled into loose waves spilling down her back, moving as she moved. 

“You’re an ass,” she said. “Now stand still and let me fix your tie.”

Gavin did as he was told - he knew better than to argue with her- and looked over her shoulder at his reflection in the mirror. It was the first time in months he’d made an effort to look nice - the first time since the funeral - and although he’d complained about it a lot, it actually did feel quite nice to be clean and presentable again. 

Tina had asked him to the dance so she could continue pretending to be straight. Gavin didn’t mind; they’d done this many times before. Deep down he knew it was bullshit this time. She’d just asked him to get him out of the dark, empty house. He’d never admit it, and she’d never ask him to say it, but he _was_ grateful. 

“There, you almost look attractive,” Tina said, tapping his chest. 

“Almost?” Gavin protested.

“Yeah, well, you’re not really my type,” Tina said. 

“Fair enough,” Gavin said, and he winked at her in the mirror.

“But we definitely are going to be the most gorgeous couple at the dance,” Tina said, looking their reflection up and down. 

“Obviously.”

“Let’s go make the straight people jealous."

* * *

They drove Gavin’s shitty car - a 1996 Toyota Corolla that should have passed away years ago - to Richmond High School, where they arrived late, as they’d planned. The parking lot was pretty full and the entire place seemed to be buzzing with noise. There were people running around everywhere. 

Gavin hesitated. 

“Hey, screw them,” Tina said, squeezing his hand. “We don’t have to talk to anyone if you don’t want to.”

Gavin sighed and ran a hand through his curls. “I know.”

“We can go around back,” Tina offered. 

Gavin frowned. “Why would we-”

He stopped when he noticed the pack of Lucky Stikes in Tina’s free hand.

“Tina, you’re a fucking hero.”

“I know,” she replied. “They’re _mine_ though, Reed. You can’t have _all_ of them again.”

* * *

They casually made their way around the back of the building, to their usual spot behind the music room. It was out of sight from most directions. They’d spent countless hours skipping class there, and they’d never been caught. 

Gavin lit Tina’s cigarette and then his own. He breathed the smoke in eagerly, welcoming the heaviness spreading through his limbs and the sense of calm washing over his mind. 

“I can’t believe the year is almost over,” Tina said after a while. “Good bye junior year.”

“I’m not coming back next year, Teen,” Gavin said softly. He’d been trying to find a way to tell her for a while. “I just can’t do it. They want me to do junior year again and I just can’t. I can’t be here for another two years and I _can’t_ live in that place anymore.”

“I know,” Tina said. 

Gavin looked up at her, surprised. 

“I’m your best friend, dipshit,” Tina said. “You may not like it, but I know a thing or two about what goes on in that head of yours. Where will you go, though?”

“I got my summer job in the city back,” Gavin answered. “Gonna stay with Joey for a while, see where I go from there.”

Tina nodded. “Okay, well, if this is going to be the final dance we go to as a fake couple, let’s at least make the most of it and actually go inside?”

Gavin smiled and threw his cigarette on the ground. “Fine, let’s go.”

“Wait,” Tina said. She stepped up to him, pulled his tie a bit looser, and ruffled her hands through his hair. “There. We just made out.”

Gavin laughed. “You’re terrible.”

Tina grinned and looped her arm through his. 

Gavin and Tina existed on the edge of most established groups within the school. They weren’t exactly super popular, but they were well known for their mischief, caused either by Gavin being a loud asshole, or Tina being dangerously charming when she wanted to be. But though they had been generally well liked and appreciated, Gavin had found out quite brutally how little people _really_ cared when they all suddenly started avoiding him after his mother’s accident. He’d gone from being rude but entertaining, to being angry and mean. He’d known it but had been unable to stop. Everyone had turned their backs, except Tina. Now that it had been a couple of months, and Gavin appeared to have returned back to normal a bit, people were trying to crawl back, playing up the fake sympathy. He might have punched the last person who’d asked him if he was feeling better if it hadn’t been for Tina’s hand on his shoulder.

* * *

Gavin and Tina walked into the crowded gym together, arms still linked, and Gavin put on the best ‘I don’t give a fuck’ grin that he could muster. They made a B-line for the dancefloor, dodging the people who might want to talk to them.

“God the music is shit,” Gavin said.

“What did you expect?” Tina asked. 

Gavin grabbed her hand and spun her in a circle so she was facing him. “I have some standards for fake dates, you know.” 

Tina grinned. “I’m flattered. And slightly worried that you have higher standards for fake dates than real ones.” 

“I have standards when it comes to real dates, too,” Gavin protested. “I took Madison Miller to a real fancy restaurant at the start of the year. Cost me a fucking month of washing dishes.” 

“And then you made out with Tyler Lewis the same evening because ‘at least he’s a decent fucking kisser’. Yeah you’re real classy,” Tina said. 

“Shut up and dance with me,” Gavin said. 

**2040**

“What are you thinking about?” Nines asked quietly. 

Gavin jumped in his seat. His eyes snapped to his boyfriend, who was leaning against the doorframe, smiling at him. 

“Fuck, Nines, you scared the shit out of me,” Gavin breathed. 

Nines walked over and sat down next to him. Gavin stretched his legs out so they were resting over Nines’ thighs, and Nines placed a hand on Gavin’s knee. 

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Nines said, apologetically. “I think you were daydreaming. You looked like you were thinking about something nice.”

Gavin nodded at the radio. “It’s this song,” he explained. “Tina and I danced to this song at our junior prom.”

Nines took a moment to listen, and frowned. “I don’t like it.” 

Gavin laughed. “Me neither. But you’re right, it’s a nice memory. I think that night was one of the only times that year I felt like a kid. There was something stupidly normal about taking my best friend on a fake date and dancing to terrible music all night.”

“Are you a good dancer?” Nines asked. 

It was a sincere question, the way Nines would ask them when he was genuinely curious to learn something about Gavin, so Gavin bit back a ‘hell no’, and instead took a moment to think about the answer. He hadn’t been dancing sober since high school, and he could hardly recall the nights he’d been dancing with Tina in more recent years due to the copious amounts of alcohol involved. 

“I don’t really know,” Gavin answered honestly. 

“Would you like to find out?” Nines asked. 

Gavin looked up at him, surprised, and grinned. “You asking me to dance, tin can?”

Nines smiled. “I am. But I cannot promise I’m going to be any good at it - I have never done it before.”

“Well, this can only go horribly wrong,” Gavin said, flinging his legs off of Nines’. “But if we’re gonna dance, I request a better song.” 

“Whatever you want,” Nines said. 

Gavin stood up from the couch and pulled his phone out, searching for a song he remembered from one of his mother’s favourite albums. Nines quickly moved the coffee table out of the way, clearing the space. When the first soft piano notes and a familiar voice filled the living room, Nines looked up at Gavin surprised. 

“This isn’t your usual music,” he said. 

Gavin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get over here.”

Nines grinned and stepped up to Gavin, closing the gap between them. 

“So how do people dance to this kind of music?” Nines asked. 

“You just sort of sway. Should be easy enough. Think you can manage?” Gavin said, grabbing one of Nines’ hands. “Other hand on my waist.” 

Their first few steps were a bit awkward and uncoordinated, but soon they fell into an easy sway. Gavin allowed Nines to take the lead - he was after all endlessly more graceful than Gavin ever would be. They spun around slowly and Gavin rested his head against Nines’ chest, listening to the faint humming of his thirium pump as it mixed in with the familiar music. 

“It’s a beautiful song,” Nines said softly. 

“One of my mom’s,” Gavin said back. “She actually bought the CD, played it for weeks. I’m pretty sure I still know all the songs.” 

Nines kissed the top of his head. “You don’t talk about her a lot.” 

“I know,” Gavin said. “Sorry.” 

“It’s all right, Gavin. There’s no need to apologize. I just hope you know that you can, if you want to.” 

The song ended and they both jumped as the next one came on, much more high energy, changing the atmosphere in the room.

Gavin stepped away from Nines and smiled. “Not bad, tin can, not bad.”

“Not bad?” Nines repeated, taking mock offense. “And who said I was done?”

Before Gavin could say anything else, Nines pulled his hand and spun him back into his arms, leading Gavin into a surprisingly well executed dance routine. 

“I thought you’d never danced before,” Gavin said, laughing as Nines swung him around the room.

“I haven’t,” Nines said. “But I may have downloaded some knowledge about it a while back, just in case.” 

“You cheating asshole,” Gavin said, still grinning. He couldn’t care less. 

**Author's Note:**

> The song I imagined Gavin and Nines having their first dance to is Running by James Bay, if you were wondering. 
> 
> Also the idea that Gavin and Tina went to prom together came from Jo so thanks Jo.
> 
> I'll be around somewhere this month for more prompts, probably, or other work. Hope to see you then!
> 
> -X


End file.
